I’m a teacher, wife, & mother of a 2 1/2 year old & a 2 week old who is taking the plunge and living my dream of being a stay at home mom for a full year. Through frugal living and semi self sufficiency, my family and I will attempt to live on my husband's teacher income in a two income world. The wisdom of my fore-mothers guide me as I set forward on this wonderful adventure that without a doubt will be filled with both challenges and triumphs.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

MSPI Lifestyle

Our little Naomi has been suffering for the last month. Every time she eats it results in horrific gas and cramping so much so that she wails to the point that I want to cry right along with her.You know those moments when kids cry so hard that no sound comes out, they just open their tiny mouths and vibrate-that is my baby girl-simply heartbreaking to watch. We've tried everything possible to lesson if not eliminate what the doctors tell me is colic.They say it will go away in three months but I just can’t watch her in agony without try to help.My parents taught me that if something doesn't work you research, pray, and problem solve. You don’t just sit there in helpless acceptance.

So, Mike and I have dutifully done that.There is a plethora of information on the internet about curing colic.As far as I can see we have tried just about everything:

Eventually we came down to the conclusion that the Levsin Drops and the Little Tummy’s Gripe Water help sometimes. Nursing Naomi while leaning back helps too and we have to hold her sitting straight up or put her in the car seat for 30 minutes after each feeding. Even with all that she still would have parts of the day that were horrid.

So one night, while I had a particularly emotional day and had cried at least 6 different times, I did a Google search for Soy and Milk free recipes. I came across another blog, http://kidchronicles.net/2011/04/soy-free-and-dairy-free-diet/ and that mother was going through almost the exact same thing as me! He child was colicky and they told her to eliminate dairy and soy to make her breast milk easier for her to digest.But like me she was only doing the obvious stuff like cream, butter, drinking milk, cheese and so on.She didn’t look at the ingredients in her food very closely.

As I read this a light bulb went on in my head! I ran to the fridge and started to look at the things I was eating and I couldn’t believe the stuff that was in everything I hadn’t noticed. I knew I was slacking a bit on milk because I was still eating bread and I knew good and well that the kind we had probably had milk in it.But I was shocked by the soy.Soy oil in my tortilla chips, Soy in my Jiff Peanut Butter, Soy in my salad dressing.

This was something new I hadn’t tried and was doable. The scientist in me smiled, an experiment was in order.I ate nothing but fresh vegetables and fruit and meat all day, and used the Levsin Drops to head off the three worst fits of Naomi’s day.And BUMM-Dada-BUMMMM! To my delight Naomi did better. So much better she slept from 9:30 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. in the morning and it is now 1:17 p.m. in the afternoon and we are still major fit free. (Feel free to applaud) (I totally did!) (Dorky… I know! J)

Enter new food revolution in our household: The MSPI Lifestyle! I went on Amazon.com and found two books, The Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI) Guidebook/Cookbook byTamara Field and Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook byCybele Pascal.After Church, for the first time in six weeks, we swung by the Fresh Market and bought Almond milk, Rice Milk, three types of coconut milk ice cream and Daiya: Deliciously Dairy Free cheddar style shreds (a shredded cheese substance)-all of which are soy and dairy free.I’ll keep you posted on how it all tastes.

Mike is for the new foods because he needs to lose 35 pounds and this lifestyle diet is pretty much what all the health food experts prescribe anyway-fresh and homemade everything with as much organic stuff as possible.I know it will be a challenge.Most of the foods out there have ingredients that prevent us from eating them. That means I will have to cook almost everything fresh and from scratch. But right now I don’t mind at all! If it helps out our baby girl and makes this family healthier it will be more than worth it. For the first time in weeks I have some hope and I’m just tickled to my fingertips! J